


Sensei Woes

by Jayedynn



Category: Naruto
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:20:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27286321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jayedynn/pseuds/Jayedynn
Summary: Gai and Kurenai, with a little help from Asuma, commiserate about the shared challenges of teaching troubled, Hyuuga youth.
Kudos: 7





	Sensei Woes

_Disclaimer: I don’t own Naruto or Boruto. This is my love letter to the characters and my chance to play with Asuma, Kurenai, and Gai, who often don’t get enough love in fanfiction. This is also my chance to try and portray Gai well, who is often written as a caricature._

_This story is set shortly before the Chuunin Exams._

**Sensei Woes**

“Hinata said that her father spends all of his time training Hanabi. He’s pushing her more and more. The poor girl collapsed from exhaustion yesterday.”

Kurenai seethed inwardly as she said this. She tried to be calm as she poured a cup of tea for herself and her guest. It was bad enough that Hyuuga Hiashi was abusive to his eldest child and nephew, but his youngest child had now become the focus of all his hopes.

Which of course, meant that Hanabi’s every move was being watched and judged by the elite of the main Hyuuga clan.

“That’s hard to hear, but we were expecting it,” Gai sighed. “Neji has told me about it too. He said she’s learning how to be a good Hyuuga heiress, which means…”

“Which means she turns her nose up at everyone that’s supposed to be beneath her?” Kurenai finished. Gai grimaced, but nodded. 

“I hate it,” she spat out. “Hinata and Hanabi were very close once and Hanabi seemed so sweet too...but now she’s getting twisted by the clan.” Remade, in the image that Hyuuga Hiashi wanted, regardless of what Hanabi actually wanted with her life.

They had been having these meetings for nearly...two years now? Yes, about two years. Lately their meetings had become an almost weekly meeting to discuss their Hyuuga charges. Neither Neji nor Hinata knew the two of them met to discuss them and Hyuuga politics.

“Does Hiashi really want his clan’s problems displayed at the Chuunin Exams?” Gai asked. “Because that’s what’s going to happen. No smart clan would want to display their internal problems like that.”

Kurenai had long stopped being surprised at Gai’s knowledge of clan politics. It wasn’t something that particularly interested him, but it was something that he didn’t have the luxury to ignore. Chouza-sama had given his genin team a crash course on clan politics when they were children. From what Kurenai understood, Gai had immediately sought out his former sensei for advice upon finding out that Neji was going to be his student. 

She didn’t have Gai’s luck of having a clan head for a former sensei to ask for help, but she made do with her own connections. Now they met on the regular as they struggled with how best to help the Hyuuga cousins.

“Honestly, I’m really worried about the upcoming Chuunin Exams,” Kurenai admitted. They were in the privacy of her home, where no one could eavesdrop on them. She always put up wards when they discussed the Hyuuga, just in case.

“Are you sure you don’t want to hold your team back a year?” Gai asked. “I did and they were better for it.”

“Maybe,” Kurenai said. She sighed. The rest of her team’s classmates were competing in the exams. Hinata’s self-esteem and confidence would take a huge hit if Kurenai didn’t let them compete. The girl would blame herself as the reason for them not being “good enough” for the Chuunin Exams. Kiba, meanwhile, was overconfident and it honestly would be better to hold him back.

“You know I can’t though...you know _why_ I can’t,” she added. All three of her kids were the children of clan heads. Kurenai had initially been reluctant to take on that responsibility and the inevitable politics that would come with it. Hinata had been a no brainer. The girl needed a caring family and if Hiashi wouldn’t parent Hinata, then she would.

“I’m glad I’m not you,” Gai admitted. “You know I’ll take on any challenge...but that’s one challenge I’m honestly glad I didn’t have to deal with. I’ve already have my share of an angry Hiashi and Neji’s not even an heir.” 

Gai knew how she struggled sometimes, as did Asuma. Asuma especially understood, seeing as his team consisted of all clan heirs as well. Asuma was from a clan himself though, unlike Kurenai and Gai. He also didn’t have to deal with any internal Hyuuga clan bullshit.

So really, Gai and Kurenai struggled a bit more with the clan politics, which Asuma fully admitted. Hell, Asuma had said more than once he was happy with the team he’d gotten.

“I should have thought of Hinata when I made the decision to hold my team back,” Gai suddenly frowned. “I’m sorry about that.” 

“No,” Kurenai said, shaking her head. “You did what was best for your team. Honestly, anyone else would have caved, the way that Hiashi tried to pressure you into signing them up last year. Neji may only be from the branch clan, but he’s still Hiashi’s nephew and the Hyuuga golden child.”

Gai’s reputation as a jounin instructor had risen among the other instructors, just by standing up to a clan head...and winning. 

“Honestly?” Gai admitted. “Chouza-sensei had to back me up on that. He and Hiashi had a long, private talk about how it was up to the appointed jounin sensei to make that judgement and that I’d been judged the most appropriate jounin sensei, so therefore ‘You need to trust Gai to do what is best for Neji and his teammates’.”

“Oh?” Kurenai hadn’t known about that. Hiashi probably hadn’t liked that, but the Akimichi were well respected as a level-headed clan. Chouza had probably been the best one to talk Hiashi down without making a scene.

“Still...you should know that Neji may try to kill her, if he’s matched with her,” Gai warned, getting back to the matter at hand. “I’ve tried what I could, but that hate and pain is too deep. He’s made her his scapegoat, because he knows he can’t touch Hiashi or Hanabi.”

“Shit,” Kurenai muttered, rubbing at her forehead. “He’s too young to hate someone else that much, especially his cousin.”

“Would be nice if Hiashi treated him like family,” Gai muttered. Gai wasn’t prone to being negative, but like Kurenai, he carried quite a bit of anger at Hyuuga Hiashi. Gai was extremely protective of his kids and did his best, again like Kurenai, to provide some semblance of a family environment.

How Gai and Kurenai had been forced to become pseudo-parents to a group of genin, especially a clan head’s closest relatives, was beyond them. They both did their extra duties as unofficial “parent” gladly and without complaint, but privately the two jounin steamed that it was necessary. If the Hyuuga were a normal clan and family, both Hinata and Neji would be loved and treated equally well.

But, the Hyuuga weren’t normal, so here they were. Again. 

“The Hyuuga are wasting their time of youth,” Gai grimaced. “Hiashi’s going to grow old and alone, because he pushed those kids away. I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t end up pushing Hanabi away too.” His stomach growled suddenly and Kurenai smirked.

“Asuma should be here soon with the food.”

“Oh good!” Gai exclaimed, showing more of his usual, boisterous self now that they were talking about something less depressing. “What’s he bringing this time?”

“Probably barbecue again,” Kurenai smiled. 

They both turned their heads then, as if on cue, they felt Asuma enter the house. He avoided the wards easily, since Kurenai always forewarned him about any traps she set. The tantalizing scent of barbecue wafted into the living room.

“Ah!” Gai said loudly. “Someone’s ears must have been burning! I’m glad you could join us on this most youthful night!”

“What’s youthful about making sense of the Hyuuga?” Asuma asked dryly, balancing a few boxes of food and two containers of soda as he slipped off his shoes.

“Gai’s trying to be optimistic,” Kurenai smirked. “I’m starting to think that’s the only way to deal with the Hyuuga without going insane.”

“Better you two than me,” Asuma said. “Here, someone take the drinks.” Gai eagerly took the sodas while Kurenai fetched some paper plates and napkins. 

“So...any progress?” Asuma asked. “Figure out how to fix the Hyuuga yet?” 

Gai snorted at the same time that Kurenai responded with a flat “No.”

“Yeah, didn’t think so,” he answered. “I’d tell you two to give up on it, but I know you both care about those kids too damn much to let Hiashi’s bullshit slide.”

“Unfortunately, we have no leverage,” Kurenai sighed. “I just found out that Chouza-sama had to back up Gai when Hiashi pushed him last year about the Chuunin Exams.”

“Really?” Asuma asked, looking up as he opened a container of pork ribs. “I guess my dad was right then. He thought that Chouza-sama must have talked to Hiashi. He was going to have a talk with Hiashi on your behalf, but then Hiashi backed off and stopped harassing you about it. Dad figured that someone must have talked him down.”

“That’s nice to hear,” Gai replied, looking visibly relieved. “I don’t know what I would have done if Sensei hadn’t stepped in.” 

“Dad wouldn’t have let you hanging like that,” Asuma pointed out. “He knew what you were signing up for with Neji.” He unscrewed the bottle of cherry soda as he talked. “He said he couldn’t think of anyone better suited for the challenge.”

That elicited some tears from Gai. Gai blubbered a moment over how the Third Hokage had so much faith in him. 

“I won’t let him down!” Gai exclaimed, pointing his chopsticks at the ceiling. Asuma and Kurenai, meanwhile, just smiled and shook their heads. 

“Speaking of letdown...no Kakashi again, I see,” Kurenai pointed out. Gai’s expression froze and sighed as he lowered the chopsticks. He stabbed them into his bowl of rice, the only visible sign of his frustration at his Eternal Rival.

“I keep inviting him, but he keeps finding excuses,” Gai said. 

“He keeps giving me excuses too,” Asuma said. 

“Me too,” Kurenai added. The three jounin sighed. Kakashi often ended up being another topic of conversation. 

“Maybe we should abduct him,” Asuma said.

“Hah! Kakashi wouldn’t be caught that easily, even by us,” Gai replied. “Besides, I’ve tried.”

“But you haven’t tried working with us on it,” Kurenai pointed out. “What if we tricked him somehow? Do one of your challenges, maybe an eating contest or something, and you just ‘happen’ to run into us at a restaurant.”

“Or end up somehow near Kurenai’s house,” Asuma said. “And we’ll just show up to grab him and pull him inside. Or maybe we can just meet up at your place instead.”

“Yosh! Sounds like a plan,” Gai replied. The three jounin busied themselves then with their food for a few minutes. Kurenai wiped her face while Gai sighed with contentment. Asuma yawned and leaned back on his palms.

“By the way, how’s Chouji doing?” Gai asked. “And the rest of your team? Are you entering them in the Chuunin Exams this year?”

“Probably,” Asuma replied. “I haven’t decided yet. I don’t think I’d get any pushback from their clans if I held them back a year, but I think it would be a good learning opportunity for them. Chouji needs help with his self-confidence and Shikamaru needs to learn how to step out of his comfort zone and be a leader. He has the potential. Ino needs to work on her ego a bit, so I think this would help her see how much training they all still need.”

“Do you think any of them would make chuunin?” Kurenai asked. 

“Hmm...maybe Shikamaru, if he actually applies himself. Honestly though, I’ll just be happy if they just have a good learning experience. I don’t expect any of them to actually make it this year, though I would be happy if they did.”

“How come I’m the only one who stuck his neck out against the clan heads?” Gai asked.

“Because you’re the only one dumb enough to do that,” Asuma replied, elbowing him in the ribs. “But seriously, you had good reasonings for it. Lee and Tenten weren’t ready, right? And Neji’s teamwork needed improvement.”

“Yeah,” Gai answered. “Also, I was hoping to show Neji that he didn’t always have to do what the Hyuuga clan told him to do. Once he found out that Hiashi wanted him to compete, he sided with me about waiting a year. I didn’t have any problems from him about not entering the exams. Lee and Tenten were the ones that complained about waiting.”

“So you stood up to Hiashi for him,” Kurenai smiled. “Someone had to show him it was possible.”

“Of course!” Gai responded. “It’s just…” he sighed and added. “I don’t know how much good it did though. I don’t really know what else to do anymore. I even tried talking to Ebisu about it, but then he started lecturing me on interfering with Hyuuga clan politics. He’s still shocked I went against Hiashi last year.”

“Ebisu is also a professional brown noser,” Kurenai snorted. “Sorry Gai, I know he was your teammate and I know he’s an excellent teacher, but…”

“Please...I know how Ebisu is,” Gai snorted. “He always told on me and Genma to Sensei if he didn’t like something we did. He eventually stopped doing it, but it was still annoying.”

“How did you get him to stop?” Asuma asked. Gai flashed a bright smile and offered a thumbs up sign.

“Genma and I opened his field pack and put itching powder in all of his clean pairs of underwear one night,” Gai grinned. “You should have seen him squirm the rest of the mission. Sensei just told Ebisu that he needed to learn how to deal with his own problems and told him to find out why we did it. Ebisu stopped being a tattletale once he realized we would retaliate against him every time.”

“Let me guess...it was all Genma’s idea?” Asuma smirked. “I can’t see you coming up with that.”

“It was,” Gai answered. “I wanted to do something with glitter, but Genma rightfully didn’t think it was good idea since we were going on a mission. 

“Glitter is hard to get rid of,” Kurenai snickered. “That would have been great too, but yeah, you didn’t need to leave a trail of glitter everywhere…especially during the war.”

“Well...Chouza-sensei still chewed us out when Ebisu wasn’t around,” Gai replied. “I haven’t had to chew my students out for anything like that, at least. They’re better behaved than my team was. Anyway...trying to talk to Ebisu was useless.”

“I’m surprised you even tried that,” Asuma said. “By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask, do you know if Kakashi is entering his students?”

“As far as I know,” Gai replied. “It’s an...interesting choice.” Interesting choice. Kurenai knew that was Gai’s tactful way of disagreeing with Kakashi behind his back, without outright criticizing him.

“Gai...did something happen between you and Kakashi?” Asuma asked. “I haven’t seen you two together lately.”

“I…we...actually had a fight about it,” Gai sighed. “I didn’t want to criticize my Eternal Rival, especially since I’m the one who told him to become an instructor, but I was getting worried about the students. He told me to mind my own business and then got really angry when I refused to leave and it...just sort of escalated.”

Ah, well, shit. Kurenai frowned down at her hands. Gai and Kakashi often had lighthearted fights, but as far as she knew, they’d never had a serious fight before.

“Kakashi needs to figure it out on his own,” Asuma said. “None of us agree with it, but I think we can all agree that we don’t like our training decisions questioned.”

“I know,” Gai groaned. “Kakashi even threw the Hiashi thing in my face and told me not to interfere with his decisions. I know he’s right about that, but…” he trailed off. 

But it still hurt, Kurenai finished silently. Gai was trying to hide it, but Kurenai could tell he was deeply troubled by it.

“I was just trying to give him advice,” Gai added quietly.

“I tried to talk to him too,” Asuma added. “But he brushed me off. Listen Gai...you can’t save Kakashi every time he’s in danger of fucking something up. We can give him all the advice in the world, but in the end, he has to make his own decisions.”

The conversation inevitably continued as Asuma and Kurenai voiced their concern over how Kakashi was handling his team. Gai was unusually quiet as he listened. Kurenai knew that Gai was always reluctant to criticize Kakashi behind his back, but also knew that he shared in her and Asuma’s concerns.

Gai knew that Kakashi wasn’t a model instructor, though he had pushed him to become one as a way to get away from Anbu. Kurenai would admit, the kids did seem to have softened Kakashi up a bit. Gai had been right to push Kakashi away from Anbu, though Kurenai and Asuma were still doubtful if jounin instructor had been the right answer.

The right answer for Kakashi? Probably. Yes. His mental health seemed to have improved, at least. The right answer for the students? The jury was still out on that.

Which Gai knew. He didn’t like to talk about it, but he understood how complex the issue was. 

That said, whoever got Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto was going to struggle as an instructor anyway. Each boy came with their own baggage and Haruno Sakura was supposed to have been a moderating influence, but seemed to be having the opposite effect.

“You know, everyone’s probably hoping for a match between Sasuke and Neji,” Kurenai said. “It would nice if some underdog beat both of them. No offense, Gai. I know Neji is your student.”

“Lee might be up for it,” Gai said. “And I’m not just saying that because I’m proud of him. Realistically, I think he has a chance and he’s been working hard to catch up to Neji. Besides, I know Neji has an arrogance problem. It would be a good, humbling experience for him.”

“I guarantee my team won’t,” Asuma said. “If Shikamaru was less lazy, maybe he could outthink them. Ino’s mind transfer techniques could be brutal too, if she had more training and was less overconfident. She’s also infatuated with Uchiha, so a match with him wouldn’t go anywhere. Chouji’s stronger than he thinks, but he doesn’t know it yet.”

“Shino has the tactical brain, so he probably has the best chance out of my team between that and the Aburame clan techniques,” Kurenai added. “Hinata has potential, but I’m pretty sure she’ll melt if faced with either of the two boys...especially Neji. That’s a damn shame. I want Hiashi to see what a beautiful and capable daughter he threw away.”

“I hate clan politics,” Gai finally whined, flopping onto his back. “Especially the Hyuuga’s. They keep destroying so many kids. And I mean, who sacrifices their own _brother_?” he added, waving his arms in anger. “Who even puts a _curse seal_ on their own family!?” Maito Gai, who never complained about anything, was fed up enough with the Hyuuga that he couldn’t help but complain.

“Be thankful you didn’t grow up in it,” Asuma grinned. He crumbled up the paper covering from his straw and flicked it at Gai. Gai batted it away easily. 

“Besides,” Asuma added. “ _No one_ understands the Hyuuga. I’m pretty sure the Uchiha thought they were insane too. Even the Hyuuga don’t understand the Hyuuga.”

“Think of it as a challenge,” Kurenai told him. On sudden inspiration, she held up her plastic cup of grape soda. “Tell you what, the first one to soften up Hiashi wins.”

“Yosh!” Gai shouted, popping back up to a sitting position and holding up his cup as well. He hated clan politics, but he was involved whether he liked it or not. Might as well make a challenge out of it. Asuma, meanwhile, groaned softly.

“You’re both nutcases,” the sole Sarutobi in the room said. “Tell you what though...if either of you manage to bring Hiashi down a peg, I’ll buy you dinner.”

“Yosh! That’s a most acceptable challenge!” Gai exclaimed. 

“You know, most smart people don’t celebrate trying to go against a clan head,” Asuma pointed out.

“Well, as you pointed out,” Kurenai grinned. “Gai and I are both nutcases.” The three of them tapped their plastic cups of soda against each other.

The Chuunin Exams were quickly approaching. Kurenai still didn’t know how they would all manage or pull through this. She and Gai probably needed to come up with a contingency plan in case things went south fast between the Hyuuga cousins. She certainly didn’t expect Hiashi to step in to protect Hinata.

But...at least she wasn’t alone in this. She and Gai were in this together, whether they liked it or not. Somehow, they would manage to make a positive difference in the Hyuuga children. Maybe the rest of the clan was fucked, but they had long since come to the private agreement that somehow...somehow...they would at least save Neji and Hinata.

Though in the end, they didn’t expect a certain jinchuuriki to do it for them. They all made sure that Naruto was treated to a nice dinner. 

............................................................................................................................................................................................

Author’s notes: Gai and Kakashi seemed a bit standoffish with each other when Gai was first introduced in the manga/anime, which clashes with how close we know they actually were. My headcanon is that they may have had an argument just prior to the Chuunin Exams, which carried over into the Exams, given how they criticized each other for teaching their students dangerous techniques.

I considered adding a scene where Gai and Kakashi reconciled and Kakashi finally joined their group, but it didn’t flow very well with the story. I decided to keep the focus on Gai, Kurenai, and Asuma. We didn’t see them interacting very much in the series, but I like to think they were close. Gai was crying at Asuma’s funeral and he and Kakashi are shown to be close to a teenage Mirai, even behaving like her goofy uncles. I do really think that Gai and Kurenai must have had many, long discussions about their Hyuuga charges.

Also, it’s a mark of Gai, Asuma, and Kurenai’s mutual dislike of Hiashi that they don’t refer to him as “Hiashi-sama” in private, while Chouza is still referred to as “Chouza-sama” or “Chouza-sensei” in Gai’s case.


End file.
